Rank-based calculation for keyword searches

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention provide efficient systems and methods for searching a keyword. Embodiments of the present invention can be used to more quickly and comprehensively search a document for a keyword or phrase, based on the preferences and behaviors of a user, so that the returned results to the user are ranked in order of the preferences of the user. By factoring in user data such as time spent on certain content and highlighted content, the system is able to more efficiently return preferred results of a user of a keyword search.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of computerizeddata processing, and more particularly to a rank-based calculation forkeyword searches.

The growth of computing and information technology has enabled a user toeasily access information stored within a large number of documents(e.g., a text document, PDF, source code editor, etc.) at differentlocations, such as a local hard drive of a computing device or a remoteweb server on the Internet. However, quickly locating the specificinformation sought by a user within a document remains a challenge.

When reading a document, a user may be more interested in some parts ofthe text than other parts of the text. Additionally, a particular usermay prefer to read certain parts first, or to only be directed to theparts of the document of interest to the particular user. For example,different users who search the keyword index of a programming manual mayhave differing preferences; application users may prefer to search howto use the index, system administrators may prefer to search how tomanage the index, and database developers may prefer to search the indexcatalog table.

In order to view certain parts of a document, certain tools such as a‘Find’ function, are commonly used, which allow a user to type in a wordor phrase, and each instance of that word or phrase may be highlightedwithin the document. A user may then click a ‘next’ button, which allowsthe user to move through each instance of the word or phrase containedin the document in a step-wise manner, in order to find the specificinformation or section for which the user is searching. However, in manyinstances, a user does not always want to find all of the matched wordsin one search, rather the user may prefer to find the matching word orphrase within a specific scope or context of the document.

In many searches, some paragraphs or sentences may get more attentionthan others. There is a need for an improvement to the keyword search,including adding additional contextual parameters, in order to make thekeyword search calculation more accurate and efficient for each user,based on the most common search behaviors and preferences of each user.It is desirable to have a system and method for directing a particularuser to a specific section of interest within a document, without theneed for the user to step through each instance of a searched keyword orphrase.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method forkeyword searching is provided. The method comprises collecting userinformation associated with a keyword search, wherein the userinformation comprises object search information, holding timeinformation, and selecting time information. The method furthercomprises storing the collected user information associated with thekeyword search in a memory and receiving, by one or more computerprocessors, an indication of a search of content for at least onekeyword. The method comprises determining whether the at least onekeyword is associated with the collected user information associatedwith the keyword search in the memory and responsive to determining thatthe at least one keyword is associated with the collected userinformation associated with the keyword search in the memory,calculating a rank for the at least one keyword.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a computer programproduct for keyword searching, based on the method described above.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a computer systemfor keyword searching, based on the method described above.

This may have the advantage that a rank-based calculation for a keywordsearch can be performed with high efficiency, taking into consideration,not just the interests of the user, but also the behaviors andpreferences of a user by using the selected behavioral search factors,in order to find what the user prefers to view. Because each word hasits own priority, the search performed is not by sequence of appearanceof that word, but rather by the most important words ranked first. Askeywords are searched by priority of importance to the particular user,only those matched keywords which the user prefers to view based on thepast preferences and behaviors of the user are returned during therank-based keyword search calculation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram illustrating a computing device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A depicts a flowchart illustrating operational steps for savinginformation for a rank calculation, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2B depicts a flowchart illustrating operational steps for rankingthe keywords based on the saved information, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts an example decay curve illustrating the decay of theratio over time for the implemented factors, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts a functional block diagram illustrating an informationfeedback mechanism of the rank-based calculation program, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of components of a computing device, inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for arank-based search for documents, in order to direct a user to thecontent that the user anticipates viewing, by taking into considerationa user's search behaviors and preferences. Embodiments of the presentinvention provide systems and methods to save information which isuseful in the rank-based calculation, including the object searchinformation, holding time information, and selecting time information.Embodiments of the present invention additionally provide systems andmethods for making a rank-based calculation of a received keyword(s),based on the saved information (i.e., object search, holding time, andselecting time information).

Embodiments of the invention may have the advantage that the systemmakes a comprehensive evaluation of multiple search factors, taking intoconsideration the most common search behaviors of a user, helping a userto more efficiently find a word that the user is interested in viewing.Because each word has its own priority, the search performed is not bysequence of appearance of that word, but rather by the most importantwords ranked first. Embodiments of the invention may be used withexisting computing device technologies, and may be implemented as aplug-in, or may be implemented as a separate feature in any staticdocument (e.g., as a new feature of the ‘Find’ function). As keywordsare searched by priority of importance to the particular user, onlythose matched keywords which the user prefers to view based on the pastpreferences and behaviors of the user are returned during the rank-basedkeyword search calculation.

Embodiments of the present invention may also have the advantage thatthe system calculation module may improve its accuracy and efficiency incalculations over time, with each use of the module. In someembodiments, a different color of highlighting is used, in order to helpa user efficiently locate a word that was searched by the user.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference tothe Figures. FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram illustrating a computingdevice, generally designated 102, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention. Modifications to computing device 102 may be madeby those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of theinvention as recited by the claims. In an exemplary embodiment,computing device 102 includes user interface (UI) 104, memory 106, harddisk drive 108, rank calculation program 110, object search module 112,holding time module 114, and selecting module 116.

In various embodiments of the present invention, computing device 102can be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a netbook computer, apersonal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a smart phone, a thin client, a wearable device, or anyprogrammable mobile electronic device capable of executing computerreadable program instructions. Computing device 102 may include internaland external hardware components, as depicted and described in furtherdetail with respect to FIG. 5.

UI 104 may be, for example, a graphical user interface (GUI) or a webuser interface (WUI) and can display text, documents, web browserwindows, user options, notifications, application interfaces, andinstructions for operation, and includes the information (such asgraphic, text, and sound) a program presents to a user and the controlsequences the user employs to control the program. UI 104 is capable ofreceiving data, user commands, and data input modifications from a user.UI 104 is also capable of communicating with rank calculation program110, object search module 112, holding time module 114, and selectingmodule 116, and displaying the results of keyword searches based on dataobtained from rank calculation program 110, object search module 112,holding time module 114, and selecting module 116. In some embodiments,UI 104 can be integrated with rank calculation program 110.

In this exemplary embodiment, memory 106 is computer readable storagemedia. Memory 106 may include random access memory (RAM). Memory 106stores gathered information and calculation information from rankcalculation program 110. Keywords may be retrieved from memory 106 upona request from a user, and memory 106 is continuously updated as userinformation is continuously gathered and rank calculations based on theuser information are continuously performed.

In this exemplary embodiment, hard disk drive 108 is computer readablestorage media. While as depicted in FIG. 1, hard disk drive 108 islocated locally on computing device 102, in other embodiments, hard diskdrive 108 (or any other suitable storage media) may be located remotely,and accessible, for example, over a network, such as the Internet. Harddisk drive 108 receives information flushed from memory 106 in batchesover a predetermined time interval. Hard disk drive 108 stores userinformation and receives new entries when new information, such as a newkeyword, is calculated.

In this exemplary embodiment, rank calculation program 110 uses threeinformation modules to perform a rank-based keyword calculation (i.e.,object search module 112, holding time module 114, and selecting module116). In other embodiments, other information modules and/or parametersmay be implemented with rank calculation program 110, in order tofurther refine a keyword calculation, based on the preferences and/orbehaviors of a user.

Object search module 112 gathers information associated with a usersearch (i.e., ‘find’ function) in which the user stops at a keyword whenusing the ‘next’ function to scroll through. In this exemplaryembodiment, when a user stops at a certain keyword, this keyword ismarked as an object search.

Holding time module 114 gathers information associated with the timespent by a user reading or viewing a certain part of a document. When auser stops at a certain section of the document (i.e., the user isreading that section), holding time module 114 notes the time spent onthe section (e.g., more time spent on a section may mean the userprefers to read that section and others similar to the content of thatsection).

Selecting module 116 gathers information associated with parts of thedocument highlighted by a user when viewing the document. By receiving asection of the document that is highlighted, selecting module 116 treatsthe selected sections as more important to the user.

Rank calculation program 110 is a software program which calculatesrank-based calculations for keyword searches received from a user. Inthis exemplary embodiment, rank calculation program 110 uses theinformation gathered from object search module 112, holding time module114, and selecting module 116 to calculate an adjusted rank for keywordsreceived from a user during a search, factoring in the preferences andbehaviors of the user. Rank calculation program 110 can learn userbehaviors over time and update its keyword calculations based on thosebehaviors.

FIG. 2A depicts flowchart 200 illustrating operational steps of rankcalculation program 110 for saving information for the rank calculation,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

In step 202, rank calculation program 110 collects user information. Inthis exemplary embodiment, the system collects the information which isuseful for the user behavior ratios factored into the rank-basedcalculation. Any factor's change will be immediately fed into the rankcalculation model as an input. The user's behavior will refresh thefactor's weight in calculating the rank. Information that is collectedmay include the following factors: object search, holding time, andselecting time. In this embodiment, the ratio for the object searchincreases after each search for the factor. However, the object searchis adjusted with the life cycle ratio for decay of the historic data.Therefore, an early behavior for the object search may hold a lessimportant role. The ratio for holding time increases with holding at akeyword. Additionally, the holding time factor is adjusted with the lifecycle ratio for decay of the historical data. The ratio for selectingtime increases dependent on how many times a part is highlighted ormarked with comments. The same decay will occur using the life cycle forselecting time (life cycle ratio is discussed further with respect toFIG. 3).

In step 204, rank calculation program 110 records the information in thememory. In this exemplary embodiment, when rank calculation program 110receives the user information, including the object search, holdingtimes, and selecting times, that information is stored in the memory(e.g., memory 106), in order to reduce load on the computationalresources.

In step 206, rank calculation program 110 clears the informationfrequently to the disk. In this exemplary embodiment, rank calculationprogram 110 clears the information stored in memory 106 frequently(e.g., at a predetermined time interval) to hard disk drive 108, inbatches. A batch I/O saves the total cost for disk writing.

In step 208, rank calculation program 110 determines whether thekeywords are on the disk. In this embodiment, when rank calculationprogram 110 is clearing the information to hard disk drive 108, thesystem first checks whether the cleared keyword information is alreadybeing stored on hard disk drive 108.

If, in step 208, rank calculation program 110 determines that thekeywords are not already on hard disk drive 108, then in step 210, rankcalculation program 110 writes the information to the disk, for thekeywords. In this exemplary embodiment, rank calculation program 110writes the information for the keywords as a new entry on hard diskdrive 108.

If, in step 208, rank calculation program 110 determines that thekeywords are on the hard disk drive 108, then, in step 212, rankcalculation program 110 combines the information together for thekeywords. In this exemplary embodiment, if the keywords information isalready on hard disk drive 108, then the system combines the existinginformation and the incoming information together for the keywords andstores the combined information for later retrieval.

FIG. 2B depicts flowchart 220 illustrating operational steps of rankcalculation program 110 for ranking the keywords based on theinformation stored in FIG. 2A, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

In step 222, rank calculation program 110 loads the information file tothe memory. In this exemplary embodiment, the system loads theinformation stored on hard disk drive 108 into memory 106 first, andsubsequently waits for a search request from a user.

In step 224, rank calculation program 110 receives an indication thatthe search mode is being used by a user. In this exemplary embodiment, auser may choose to commence a new search, and activates a method of asearch mode. For example, activating the method of a search mode maydepend on the program (e.g., plug-in, built-in to existing documents,separate add-on).

In step 226, rank calculation program 110 determines whether thekeywords are found in the memory. In this exemplary embodiment, rankcalculation program 110 looks for the information for the keywords inthe memory 106, responsive to receiving a search request from a user.Rank calculation program 110 scans the information in memory 106 formatching information related to the searched keyword.

If, in step 226, rank calculation program 110 determines that thekeywords are found in the memory, then, in step 230, rank calculationprogram 110 returns and updates the information. In this exemplaryembodiment, if the information the user needs is in the memory, then theinformation is returned directly to the requesting user, and is updatedin the memory based on the recent search request.

If, in step 226, rank calculation program 110 determines that thekeywords are not found in the memory, then, in step 228, rankcalculation program 110 searches for the requested information on harddisk drive 108, and also updates the information in memory 106, based onthe recent user search request.

In step 232, rank calculation program 110 calculates the rank for thekeywords. In this exemplary embodiment, to implement the rankcalculation model, a lightweight component is added to monitor a user'sbehavior of an object search, holding time, and selecting time, in thebackground. This model runs in the text application. The rankcalculation is built into a mathematical model, and the followingformula is used to adjust the search ratio:

$\begin{matrix}{{Ratio} = {\left( {\sum{{Object\_ Search} \times {Life\_ Cycle}}} \right) + \left( {\sum{\frac{Keep\_ Time}{Time\_ Weight} \times {Life\_ Cycle2}}} \right) + \left( {\sum{{Select\_ Times} \times {Select\_ Ratio} \times {Life\_ Cycle3}}} \right)}} & {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 1}\end{matrix}$

Where ratio is the final ratio for the search order; object_searchrepresents that the time for the word is ranked as an object search;keeping_time is the time range during which a user remains on aparticular section; time_weight is the weight used for adjusting theratio (the weight may be further adjusted with each use); select_ratiois the adjusting ratio for the final ratio (the ratio may be furtheradjusted with each use); life_cycle is the ratio of decay over time(further depicted in FIG. 3) and is different for each of object_search,keep_time, and select_times. Life_cycle1 decays when a certain word hasbeen ranked as object search a predetermined number of times (e.g., 10times) and can be adjusted over time; life_cycle2 decays with apredetermined time elapse (e.g., 5 hours) and can be adjusted over time;and life_cycle3 decays when a certain word has not been ranked as selectpart a predetermined number of times (e.g., 5 times) and can be adjustedover time with each use.

In this exemplary embodiment, the calculation requires very littlecomputational load for monitoring and calculating the rank ratio. Rankcalculation program 110 may be launched simultaneously with the launchof a text application. In some embodiments, the information for the rankcalculation is stored for a predetermined amount of time, and the unusedhistorical data is cleared at predetermined times. This reduces theresource consumption during the rank calculation.

In some embodiments, rank calculation program 110 can replace thefunctions of a traditional ‘find’ function in a text application. Inother embodiments, rank calculation program 110 can be installed as aplug-in with existing word documents, PDFs, Symphony®, Eclipse, or anyother source code editors. The plug-in feature can be implemented basedon existing ‘forward’ and ‘backward’ find functions, while alsoaccounting for the rank information based on a user's behaviors in thesearch calculation. In some embodiments, if no user information isavailable, the plug-in recognizes this, and reverts to performing thetraditional ‘forward’ and ‘backward’ find functions. In otherembodiments, rank calculation program 110 can be installed as a newfeature into any static text document, for example, as a new feature ofword documents or Adobe® PDF.

Accordingly, by performing the operations of FIGS. 2A and 2B, arank-based calculation for a keyword search can be performed with highefficiency, taking into consideration the behaviors and preferences of auser by using the above three search factors, in order to find what theuser prefers to view. Additionally, the rank calculation program isflexible, and can be extended dynamically to many different searchingoptions and situations, including the addition of other factors to therank calculation.

FIG. 3 depicts an example decay curve illustrating the decay of theratio over time for the implemented factors, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

The rank calculation component uses the mathematical model from Formula1, however, any new factor can also added to the model, which optimizesthe results from the model over time. The key of the life cycle fromFormula 1 brings in the decay effect for each of the factors, and candecay the effect of some factor to the rank due to a decayingexponential, as seen in the exponential decay curve of FIG. 3.

In this exemplary embodiment, a decay curve is used in calculating thelife cycle ratio of each of the factors, using the following:

F=log_(1/10)(x+1)+1  Formula 2

Where the values for the life cycle and the ratio for each of thefactors are calculated in the following:

TABLE 1 Life Cycle 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ratio 1.0000 0.6990 0.5229 0.39790.3010 0.2218 0.1549 0.0969 0.0458 0.00

Thus, as can be seen from FIG. 3 and Table 1, for each of the factors,the ratio increases for each search or use of the factor.

FIG. 4 depicts a functional block diagram illustrating an informationfeedback mechanism of the rank calculation program 110, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

As depicted in FIG. 4, the three information factors (i.e., objectsearch 406, holding time 408, and selecting time 410) feedback anychange in information to rank calculation program 402 as an input.Object search 406, holding time 408, and selecting time 410 receivekeyword and search information from user interfaces (UIs) 404A-N. Theuser's behavior received at UIs 404A-N refreshes each of the factor'sweight in calculating the rank at rank calculation program 402. Rankcalculation program 402 outputs the results of a rank calculation to UIs404A-N.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of internal and external components of acomputing device, generally designated 500, which is representative ofthe computing device of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. It should be appreciated that FIG. 5 provides only anillustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitationswith regard to the environments in which different embodiments may beimplemented. Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made.

Computing device 500 includes communications fabric 502, which providescommunications between computer processor(s) 504, memory 506, cache 516,persistent storage 508, communications unit 510, and input/output (I/O)interface(s) 512. Communications fabric 502 can be implemented with anyarchitecture designed for passing data and/or control informationbetween processors (such as microprocessors, communications and networkprocessors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any otherhardware components within a system. For example, communications fabric502 can be implemented with one or more buses.

Memory 506 and persistent storage 508 are computer-readable storagemedia. In this embodiment, memory 506 includes random access memory(RAM). In general, memory 506 can include any suitable volatile ornon-volatile computer readable storage media. Cache 516 is a fast memorythat enhances the performance of processors 504 by holding recentlyaccessed data, and data near recently accessed data, from memory 506.

Program instructions and data used to practice embodiments of thepresent invention may be stored in persistent storage 508 and in memory506 for execution by one or more of the respective processors 504 viacache 516. In an embodiment, persistent storage 508 includes a magnetichard disk drive. Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard diskdrive, persistent storage 508 can include a solid state hard drive, asemiconductor storage device, read-only memory (ROM), erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, or any othercomputer readable storage media that is capable of storing programinstructions or digital information.

The media used by persistent storage 508 may also be removable. Forexample, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage 508.Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, andsmart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto anothercomputer readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage508.

Communications unit 510, in these examples, provides for communicationswith other data processing systems or devices, including resources of anetwork. In these examples, communications unit 510 includes one or morenetwork interface cards. Communications unit 510 may providecommunications through the use of either or both physical and wirelesscommunications links. Program instructions and data used to practiceembodiments of the present invention may be downloaded to persistentstorage 508 through communications unit 510.

I/O interface(s) 512 allows for input and output of data with otherdevices that may be connected to computing device 500. For example, I/Ointerface 512 may provide a connection to external devices 518 such as akeyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable inputdevice. External devices 518 can also include portable computer-readablestorage media such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical ormagnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data used to practiceembodiments of the present invention (e.g., software and data) can bestored on such portable computer-readable storage media and can beloaded onto persistent storage 508 via I/O interface(s) 512. I/Ointerface(s) 512 also connect to a display 520.

Display 520 provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be,for example, a computer monitor, or a television screen.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles ofthe embodiment, the practical application or technical improvement overtechnologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinaryskill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

1-8. (canceled)
 9. A computer program product for keyword searching, thecomputer program product comprising: a computer readable storage mediumand program instructions stored on the computer readable storage medium,the program instructions comprising: program instructions to collectuser information associated with a keyword search, wherein the userinformation comprises object search information, holding timeinformation, and selecting time information; program instructions tostore the collected user information associated with the keyword searchin a memory; program instructions to receive an indication of a searchof content for at least one keyword; program instructions to determinewhether the at least one keyword is associated with the collected userinformation associated with the keyword search in the memory; andprogram instructions to, responsive to determining that the at least onekeyword is associated with the collected user information associatedwith the keyword search in the memory, calculate a rank for the at leastone keyword.
 10. The computer program product of claim 9, furthercomprising: program instructions to, responsive to determining that theat least one keyword is not associated with the collected userinformation associated with the keyword search in the memory, search ahard disk for information associated with the at least one keyword. 11.The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising: programinstructions to write the stored collected user information associatedwith the keyword search in the memory to a hard disk at a predeterminedtime interval.
 12. The computer program product of claim 9, furthercomprising: program instruction to update the collected user informationassociated with the keyword search in the memory, based on a user searchrequest.
 13. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein theprogram instructions to calculate a rank for the least one keywordcomprise: program instructions to determine a life cycle for each of: anobject search, a holding time, and a selecting time; and programinstructions to adjust a ratio for each of the object search, theholding time, and the selecting time.
 14. The computer program productof claim 9, wherein the object search information comprises informationassociated with a user stopping at a keyword within a document.
 15. Thecomputer program product of claim 9, wherein the holding timeinformation comprises information associated with a time spent by a userreading a certain part of a document.
 16. The computer program productof claim 9, wherein the selecting time information comprises informationassociated with a section of a document highlighted by a user whenviewing the document.
 17. A computer system for keyword searching, thecomputer system comprising: one or more computer processors; one or morecomputer readable storage media; and program instructions stored on theone or more computer readable storage media for execution by at leastone of the one or more processors, the program instructions comprising:program instructions to collect user information associated with akeyword search, wherein the user information comprises object searchinformation, holding time information, and selecting time information;program instructions to store the collected user information associatedwith the keyword search in a memory; program instructions to receive anindication of a search of content for at least one keyword; programinstructions to determine whether the at least one keyword is associatedwith the collected user information associated with the keyword searchin the memory; and program instructions to, responsive to determiningthat the at least one keyword is associated with the collected userinformation associated with the keyword search in the memory, calculatea rank for the at least one keyword.
 18. The computer system of claim17, further comprising: program instructions to, responsive todetermining that the at least one keyword is not associated with thecollected user information associated with the keyword search in thememory, search a hard disk for information associated with the at leastone keyword.
 19. The computer system of claim 17, further comprising:program instructions to write the stored collected user informationassociated with the keyword search in the memory to a hard disk at apredetermined time interval.
 20. The computer system of claim 17,further comprising: program instruction to update the collected userinformation associated with the keyword search in the memory, based on auser search request.
 21. The computer system of claim 17, wherein theprogram instructions to calculate a rank for the least one keywordcomprise: program instructions to determine a life cycle for each of: anobject search, a holding time, and a selecting time; and programinstructions to adjust a ratio for each of the object search, theholding time, and the selecting time.
 22. The computer system of claim17, wherein the object search information comprises informationassociated with a user stopping at a keyword within a document.
 23. Thecomputer system of claim 17, wherein the holding time informationcomprises information associated with a time spent by a user reading acertain part of a document.
 24. The computer system of claim 17, whereinthe selecting time information comprises information associated with asection of a document highlighted by a user when viewing the document.